Page 66 of Austin
Chapter Thirteen
Austin’s leg achedwhenever he put weight on it, which meant that it ached full-time, so he sat in a chair while signing autographs after the Portland event. He considered himself fortunate that the extent of his injuries thus far in the season were the usual aches and pains in the shoulders, elbows, knees and wrist, and a possible fracture of his fibula. He signed his last autograph, smiled at the little girl who took it from him as if it were something precious. “I’m going to ride bulls when I get bigger,” she said.
Her mother’s smile went tight, as if terrified that her daughter would do just that.
“My advice is to start small,” Austin said. “With sheep.”
“I’m already doing that.”
“Wear all the safety equipment. No matter what. Only uncool people refuse to wear helmets and vests.”
“But what about Gustavo? He doesn’t wear a helmet.”
Austin smiled. “Like I said…”
The night had gone well. He hadn’t won the big money, but he hadn’t gotten any more busted up than he already was, and he’d picked up a travel partner the day before. Kelly Kincaid, who’d come out of nowhere to win Salt Lake, was struggling with finances and there was some issue with his truck that he hadn’t gone into too deeply. Whatever the deal was, Austin was glad for the company. Driving alone for hours gave him too much time to think. He normally didn’t mind being alone and thinking, but lately his thoughts seemed to edge more toward Kristen and less toward mental preparation for the next event.
Nothing wrong with that…except that, like the kiss in the FlintWorks parking lot, he hadn’t seen this coming. Hadn’t expected to have Kristen haunting his thoughts more and more, rather than less as time passed.
He’d assumed that after he’d been on the road for a day or two, he’d ease back into his old routine. Training, doing appearances, focusing on the next event. Hanging with his friends. He hadn’t thought he’d be fighting the urge to call Kristen and touch base, hear her voice. What good would that do him?
He met Kelly in the changing room and the two of them walked to his truck.
“I appreciate this,” he said for the tenth or eleventh time.
“Glad to have company,” Austin replied, just to change up his usual ‘not a problem’ response.
Kelly gave a nod. He was normally a talkative guy—Austin had hung with him a few years before, when he’d spent time in the minors—but, despite the win in Salt Lake and his high finish tonight, he didn’t have a lot to say. Austin was good with that.
Nothing wrong with a little quiet.
*
Kristen had justpulled her car into the driveway after a late shift at FlintWorks when her phone rang and her heart jumped. Late-night calls were never good…especially when Austin’s name appeared on the screen and it was possible that he was calling to tell her he’d been injured. She hadn’t yet had a chance to find video of Austin’s ride, or search for results of the Portland AEBR event, so she had no idea how the finals had turned out.
“Hello?”
Please, be okay.
“Hey.” His voice rolled over her and she relaxed against the seat. He was all right. “I, uh, just felt like checking in.”
“How was your ride?”
“Awesome.”
She gave a low laugh in spite of herself. “Any part of you get twisted, crushed, or bent?”
“Yes.”
She laughed again. “Any chance you could expand on your answer?”
“You don’t want to know tiny details.” She did, but she wasn’t going to push. His tone shifted, became more candid. “I came in third. Had good rides. Nothing got hurt any worse than before.”
“Good to hear.” He’d made some money and would be pushing on to the next stop—Spokane, Washington.
“Did you hear back on the interview?”
“Well, I interviewed via the internet, and now I’m waiting. No idea when I’ll hear whether I made the cut to the next level. How’d the high school talk go?”
